Page 248 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 11
“Okay, well, great,” said Mr. Halifax. “Break up in pairs like that.”
Damn it!
“You’re supposed to have a basic concept for your videogame picked out by Friday. So go ahead and start brainstorming.”
Sophie spun around to look at Jacob. “I guess that means we’re paired up. Is Mr. Halifax looking over? Does he seem jealous?”
Jacob laughed. “No, he’s not looking. And why would he be jealous of you pairing up with me? You just told him that we’re basically cousins.”
“Crap. I shouldn’t have done that.” She sighed. “But it’s fine. Pavel will make up for it in a few minutes.”
Axel tapped on my shoulder.
I couldn’t even look at him. I was annoyed at him for ignoring me for days until today. And now I was annoyed that he was giving me any attention at all. It just seemed like he enjoyed messing with my head. And my head was already messed up enough.
“What were you thinking for our concept?” he asked.
I sighed and spun around. “I wasn’t thinking anything. I’m going to get my dad to change my partner.”
Axel raised his eyebrow. “I don’t think your dad’s allowed to give you special treatment.”
I opened my mouth and closed it again. “I don’t understand what you want from me.”
“We had a deal.”
God, him and this stupid deal. “Which you broke too.”
He shook his head. “Tit for tat, Scarlett. And like I told you earlier, it was just a few texts on Friday. I don’t know what Gigi told you, but she was lying.”
I glared at him. This whole stupid Gigi thing was just the tip of the iceberg. Him thinking of me as a sister hurt my heart. But what I was really pissed about was the fact that I’d told him I’d saved my first kiss for him. And he’d had nothing to say. Not one word about it, really. He’d just shrugged at me. And now he was acting like a total dick.
“How about we get together on Thursday to brainstorm concept ideas,” Axel said.
“You know I’m busy on Thursday.” I was pretty sure he’d overheard me making a date with Jacob.
“Well, I can’t do it tonight. We have a late practice.”
I wanted to protest, but Jacob had already said that exact same thing.
“And we have to have a concept to tell your dad on Friday. So...” He shrugged. “Seems like you’ll have to cancel that date after all.” He looked so pleased with himself.
But he had no idea how much he was messing up my life now. I needed to kiss Jacob before the game on Saturday or I’d have to kiss a baker’s dozen football players to find my kiss thief.
The bell rang, signaling the end of class.
“I’ll swing by after practice on Thursday,” Axel said and stood up.
I sighed. “Yeah, sure.”
He smiled at me and then walked out of class.
The old me would have been thrilled to be paired up with Axel for a project. But this was supposed to be my fresh start which didn’t include him for once.
I turned to Jacob. “I’m so sorry, I have to cancel for Thursday.”
“I heard,” he said as he pulled his backpack over one shoulder. “No worries. You’re coming to the after party on Saturday, right?”
I nodded. I’d ask him about Friday, but there was no use. There was always a team dinner the night before a game. He’d be busy.
